Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Ready to Receive Referrals During Doctor’s Strike

The Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) is prepared to handle an influx of referral cases from across the North Rift region following the commencement of a nationwide doctor’s strike today.

“MTRH is ready to receive referral cases from other public hospitals within the region,” stated Dr. Owen Menach, the Acting Senior Director of Clinical Services at MTRH, speaking on behalf of the Acting CEO, Dr. Philip Kirwa. Dr. Menach’s comments came during the flagging-off ceremony for the “Kidney Health for All” walk held in commemoration of World Kidney Day.

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MTRH is a vital center for kidney care in the region. Dr. Kirwa, through Dr. Menach, highlighted that the hospital attends to at least 3,000 kidney patients every month who require dialysis or transplants. Since 2016, MTRH has successfully performed 120 transplants. The hospital remains committed to raising public awareness about kidney diseases, often caused by unhealthy lifestyles, obesity, and excessive consumption of processed foods.

Dr. Phillip Cheptinga, one of only three nephrologists in the region, emphasized the need for a national health laboratory service with an annual budget of at least 100 billion Kenyan shillings. This initiative is crucial as only 2% of Kenyans have been screened for kidney disease, currently the world’s 8th leading cause of death. Dr. Cheptinga called upon Parliament to expedite the passing of the Kenya Organ and Transplant Bill 2023. This legislation would regulate and facilitate deceased donor programs, a potential game-changer. “Once this bill is passed, we can harvest at least 32 organs from a single deceased donor,” Dr. Cheptinga explained, “significantly addressing the organ shortage for transplants in our country.”

Dr. Cheptinga identified unhealthy diets, processed foods, and obesity as the main contributors to kidney disease in the region and Kenya as a whole. The country currently has only 45 nephrologists and fewer than ten transplant surgeons. Several barriers hinder optimal kidney care access, including lack of diagnosis, limited health insurance coverage, inadequate awareness among healthcare workers, and challenges with medication affordability.

With kidney disease currently ranking as the 8th leading cause of death, projections show it could become the 5th leading cause of lost years of life by 2040.